Every cancellation at the Trump Center
Trump Kennedy Center
John F Kennedy said in a speech on October 26, 1963:
If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him. We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.
Since President Donald Trump, acting as chairman, decided to rename the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center (despite objections from the Kennedy family), performers have been cancelling their scheduled appearances or stepping down from their roles in the JFK Center.
Jazz septet The Cookers was the latest musician to pull out. They cancelled both appearance at their sold-out New Year’s Eve performances. The Cookers did not say it was Trump that led them to cancel, but in a statement, simply said, “Jazz was born from struggle and from a relentless insistence on freedom: freedom of thought, of expression, and of the full human voice.”
Here is a list of every cancellation at the Trump Center that I can find (if I’m missing any, please let me know). Look for more cancellations in 2026.
- 02/07 Karine Jean-Pierre was fired by Trump
- 02/07 Award-winning musician Jon Batiste was fired by Trump
- 02/07 Billionaire philanthropist David Rubenstein was fired by Trump
- 02/12 Ben Folds resigned as Artistic Advisor
- 02/12 Renée Fleming resigned as Artistic Advisor
- 02/12 Shonda Rhimes resigned as treasurer
- 02/12 Finn Musical (Canceled)
- 02/13 R&B Love Songs Edition (Canceled by producer)
- 02/27 Balun (Canceled)
- 03/12 Stephen Key, along with dozen or more gay and lesbian musicians, have resigned
- 03/15 Blacks in Wax (Canceled)
- 03/16 An Evening With Issa Rae (Canceled)
- 03/17 Harvey Fierstein banned by Trump
- 03/19 Low Cut Connie (Canceled)
- 03/21 Peter Wolf Book Event (Canceled)
- 03/22 Skipper the Seal Book Event (Canceled)
- 03/26 Arts & Wellbeing Panel (Canceled)
- 04/05 Amanda Rheaume (Canceled)
- 04/18 Bard and the Beat II (Canceled)
- 04/19 Saigon by Night (Canceled by Trump)
- 04/20 Bring them Home – Film (Canceled)
- 04/26 National Youth Poet Laureate Commemoration (Canceled)
- 05/04 U.S. Marine Band (Canceled by Trump’s anti-DEI orders)
- 05/11 Rhiannon Giddens (Canceled)
- 12/24 Chuck Redd’s annual Christmas Jazz Jams (Canceled)
- 12/31 A Jazz New Year’s Eve: The Cookers Early (Canceled)
- 12/31 A Jazz New Year’s Eve: The Cookers Late (Canceled)
— 2026 —
- 01/14 Kristy Lee (Canceled)
- 01/19 Let Freedom Ring with Leslie Odom, Jr. (relocated to Howard Theatre)
- 01/22 Wayne Tucker and The Bad Mothas (Canceled)
- 01/24 Washington National Opera: American Opera Initiative (Canceled)
- 01/28 Kevin Couch senior vice-president of artistic programming resigns
- 02/01 Brentano Quartet with Hsin-Yun Huang (Canceled)
- 02/07 Sonia De Los Santos – School Performance and Creative Conversation (Canceled)
- 02/08 Vocal Arts DC Presents Bernheim & Matheson (Canceled)
- 02/19-02/22 Béla Fleck (Canceled)
- 02/28 Magpie (Canceled)
- 03/01 Vocal Arts DC Presents Kelsey & Ketter (Canceled)
- 03/03-04-26 Hamilton Musical (Canceled)
- 03/19-03/29 Washington National Opera: The Crucible (Canceled)
- 03/22 Fishing for Stars (Canceled)
- 04/04 Martha Graham Dance Company (Canceled)
- 04/11-04/12 Young Dragon: A Bruce Lee Story (Canceled)
- 04/18-04/19 Young Dragon: A Bruce Lee Story (Canceled)
- 04/24-04/25 Doug Varone and Dancers (Canceled)
- 05/08-05/23 Washington National Opera: West Side Story (Canceled)
- 05/10 Vocal Arts DC Presents Bu & Pak (Canceled)
- 05/12-05/22 Washington National Opera: Treemonisha (Canceled)
- 05/16 Stephen Schwartz resigns from Washington National Opera Gala
- 05/16 Washington National Opera: Washington National Opera Gala (Canceled)
- 05/21 Gay Men’s Chorus (Canceled by Trump)
- 05/29-05/30 Asian AF (Canceled)
- 05/29-05/30 Renée Fleming withdrawl from Gaffigan conducts Appalachian Spring (Fleming canceled)
- 06/12-06/13 Philip Glass’ Symphony No. 15, “Lincoln” (Canceled)
- 07/04/2026-07/04/2028 All scheduled shows in this time period be cancelled due to “renovations”
Update 01/10/2026: Washington National Opera announced that they have decided to move out of the Trump/Kennedy Center, via New York Times:
The opera company is seeking to sever its ties with the Kennedy Center after a tumultuous year in which both groups have faced cancellations by artists, empty seats and the retrenchment of donors protesting Mr. Trump’s intervention. Within weeks of beginning his second term, the president named himself chairman of the center and installed a political ally, Richard Grenell, as its executive director, while filling its board with supporters.
A resolution to leave was approved by the opera’s board of trustees on Friday. The opera said in a statement that it would “seek an amicable early termination of its affiliation agreement with the Kennedy Center and resume operations as a fully independent nonprofit entity.”
Update: Any or all Drag Shows are cancelled by Donald Trump. From Feb 07, 2025, 5:27 PM:
At my direction, we are going to make the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., GREAT AGAIN. I have decided to immediately terminate multiple individuals from the Board of Trustees, including the Chairman, who do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture. We will soon announce a new Board, with an amazing Chairman, DONALD J. TRUMP! Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP. The Kennedy Center is an American Jewel, and must reflect the brightest STARS on its stage from all across our Nation. For the Kennedy Center, THE BEST IS YET TO COME!
Washington Post reported October 31, 2025:
Kennedy Center ticket sales have plummeted since Trump takeover
The Washington National Opera is considering moving due to boycott, read more at The Guardian:
Ticket sales were about 40% unsold compared with before Trump declared himself chair, said [Francesca] Zambello. Many have decided to boycott the center. Every day she receives messages of protest from formerly loyal members of the audience, she says. “They say things like: ‘I’m never setting foot in there until the “orange menace” is gone.’ Or: ‘Don’t you know history? Don’t you know what Hitler did? I refuse to give you a penny,’” she said. “People send me back their the season brochure shredded in an envelope and say: ‘Never, never, will I return: while he’s in power.’”
Update 02/03/2026: Donald Trump announced on Feb 1st, that the Kennedy Center will be closed on July 4, 2026, for the next two years for “renovations”. Therefor, any scheduled shows on and after July 4, is, in effect, cancelled.
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